I've read a few different reviews/comments about Countdown 18. That's the one with the Challengers at last finding Ray Palmer on his perfect Earth, with all his Silver Age friends (Barry and Iris, Ralph and Sue, all the old gang) still among the living, happily retired from herodom because, well, they won the fight against evil on that Earth.
Other than the whole "finally!" reaction, the main thing I've seen mentioned about this issue is Zatanna. Specifically, that the retired Zatanna of this Earth, now working as a psychologist (instead of returning to the stage?), has put on some weight. Some people find the change amusing, others don't like it at all. There have also been some comments about her wearing a variant of her old costume--a fitted dress suit with fishnet stockings. Comments on how she let herself go, or wondering why she wasn't wearing something less revealing/form-fitting (with or without fishnets). It's amazing how many people seem to be personally offended by this, whereas mean and nasty Zatanna (killed by Superman Prime) bothered them not at all.
But you know, I'm not seeing that.
What I'm seeing is a Zatanna who--a little older, a little less active--may have put on a few pounds, who dresses appropriately for her current profession but with just that little touch of sex appeal (the fishnets), and whose sense of herself as an attractive, sexual woman is strong enough that she's just as confident of these things as a older, larger woman.
Nothing wrong with that.
8 comments:
I thought she was wearing the outfit so we would recognize her. And since none of the male characters had put on weight, it really jumped out at me that she had.
Shelly - You're right, it's possible that the outfit was a visual cue, since Zatanna's friends call her "Zee" but the reader wouldn't necessarily know that.
And I think there's a strong likelihood that the reason for "fat Zatanna" was just "hey, she's one of our sex symbols, wouldn't it be funny if..."
However, I prefer my interpretation. :)
I like your interpretation, too. ;)
I missed it and I can't seem to find an image online, but I like Love and Rockets so I don't it would bother me.
but then I'm not reading countdown, so...
Hmmm, not just 'fat Zatanna' but 'fat lesbian Zatanna whose partner is pregnant', or am I reading far too much in to a couple of panels?
To me it looked less like fat Zatanna so much as weirdly bloated Zatanna. She doesn't look heavy, she looks like she has had some bizarre allergic reaction that has caused her to swell up, and it's not even consistent from panel to panel.
My best guess is that the artist has never attempted to draw any female not built like Barbie before.
Marionette hit my opinion. An overweight (we with extra pounds are not fond of "fat") Zatanna is not as bad as a concentration of the fat around her neck. It was as if the only way to convey weight gain was by bloating the skin around the neck. Have these artist never seen "The Biggest Loser." It would have been nice if there was balance and another former hero camoed with some weight gain.
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